LoosePipe

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Spandau

2005-04-05T14:02:00.000-07:00

District of Berlin, Germany, on the Havel River at the mouth of the Spree. Originally the site of a Sorbian (Wendish) fortress, Spandau became German c. 1230 and was granted civic rights in 1232. It was incorporated into Berlin in 1920. The citadel (1560–94, including the 12th-century Julius Tower) is one of the oldest well-preserved Italian-style Renaissance fortifications in northern Germany,

Franca

2005-04-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

City, in the highlands of northeastern São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies at 3,314 feet (1,010 m) above sea level. Known variously as Vila Franca del Rei and Vila Franca do Imperador, it was given town status in 1824 and was made the seat of a municipality in 1856. The city has one of the largest sugar refineries in Brazil; coffee, rice, corn (maize), cotton, and feijão (beans) are also grown locally.

Mental Disorder, Major affective disorders

2005-03-29T05:31:00.000-08:00

The DSM-III defines two major, or severe, affective disorders: bipolar disorder and major depression. A person with bipolar disorder, which has traditionally been called manic-depressive psychosis, typically experiences discrete episodes of depression and then of mania lasting for a few weeks or months, with intervening periods of complete normality. The sequence

Asia, Petroleum and natural gas

2005-03-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

At least two-thirds of the world's known crude oil and natural gas reserves are found in Asia; the proportion may prove higher as Siberia, the Caspian basin, and the seas of southeastern Asia are further explored. Many of the island chains bordering eastern Asia have geologic formations favouring petroleum accumulation, and oil fields—both on land and offshore—are

Biblical Literature, The primeval history

2005-03-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Bible begins with the creation of the universe. It tells the story with images borrowed from Babylonian mythology, transformed to express its own distinctive view of God and man. Out of primary chaos, darkness, void, depths, and waters God creates the heaven and the earth and all that dwell therein—a coherent order of things—by his will and word alone. He says, “Let there

Abreu, Capistrano De

2005-03-24T17:17:00.000-08:00

After serving at the National Library of Rio de Janeiro (1875–83), Abreu became professor of history at the Colégio Dom Pedro II in 1883. Influenced by the sociology of Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer and the historical enterprises of Henry

Maxim, Hiram Percy

2005-03-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

Son and nephew of famous inventors, Maxim graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then in Boston, at age 16 and by 1890 was superintendent of the American Projectile Company plant at Lynn, Mass. While bicycling from Salem to Lynn,

Avempace

2005-03-20T00:45:00.000-08:00

Avempace's chief philosophical tenets seem to have included belief in the possibility that the human soul could become united with the Divine. This

Draft Riot Of 1863

2005-03-18T16:45:00.000-08:00

Major four-day eruption of violence in New York City resulting from deep worker discontent with the inequities of conscription during the U.S. Civil War. Although labouring people in general supported the Northern war effort, they had no voice in Republican policy and occasionally deserted from the army or refused reenlistment. Because of their low wages, often

Ibn Tibbon, Moses Ben Samuel

2005-03-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

Jewish physician like his father, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, and his paternal grandfather, Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon, and an important translator of Arabic-language works into Hebrew. His translations served to disseminate Greek and Arab culture throughout Europe. Besides original works, which included commentaries with an allegorical bias on

China, Population

2005-03-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ming China's northward orientation in foreign relations was accompanied by a flow of Chinese migrants from the crowded South back into the vast North China Plain, and by a concomitant shift in emphasis from an urban and commercial way of life back to a rural and agrarian pattern. Thus, demographic and economic trends that had characterized China for centuries—the

Kyoto

2005-03-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Fu (urban prefecture), Honshu, Japan, bounded by the ken (prefectures) of Fukui and Shiga (east), Nara (south), and Hyogo (northwest), the fu of Osaka (southwest), and the Sea of Japan (north). Much of it is composed of the Tamba Mountains, which are sometimes considered to be the eastern extension of the Chugoku Range. From 1874 until World War II, Kyoto was the prefecture with the largest industrial

Talisman

2005-03-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

Object bearing a sign or engraved character and thought to act as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune. See amulet.

France, History Of, The social order of the ancien régime

2005-03-14T07:24:00.000-08:00

In the society of the ancien

Water Beetle

2005-03-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

Any of several thousand species of aquatic beetles (order Coleoptera), including members of the families Haliplidae (crawling water beetles), Amphizoidae (trout-stream beetles), Hygrobiidae (screech beetles), Gyrinidae (whirligig beetles), Noteridae (burrowing water beetles), Hydrophilidae (water scavenger beetles), Dryopidae (long-toed water beetles), and Dytiscidae

Arts, Central Asian, Kushan

2005-03-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

The Kushans replaced the Greeks in Bactria about 130 BC. They are thought to have been of Yüeh-chih stock with a strong admixture of Hephthalites, Saka, and Tocharian. One branch of this group migrated to the Tarim Basin and founded a short-lived empire, while the other, under the name of Kushan, gained control of Central Asia. Capturing a section of the great trade route leading

Photography, Technology Of, Gamma radiography

2005-03-11T03:38:00.000-08:00

The technique of gamma-ray radiography is similar to that of X-ray radiography except that it relies on rays emitted by radioactive substances. Gamma rays have wavelengths from 100 to 1,000 times shorter than X rays and correspondingly greater penetrating power. Small gamma-ray sources are placed in areas inaccessible to X-ray tubes, such as inside pipelines. In all radiographic

Azo Compound

2005-03-10T07:34:00.000-08:00

Most aromatic

Acari

2005-03-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

Also called Acarida, or Acarina, subclass of the arthropod class Arachnida that includes the mites and ticks. The acarids may be separated into three orders, Opilioacariformes, Parasitiformes, and Acariformes, consisting of six suborders and about 428 families.

Hülegü

2005-03-07T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hülegü, a grandson of Genghis Khan, was appointed by his brother

Sophocles

2005-03-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

With Aeschylus and Euripides, one of classical Athens' three great tragic playwrights. The best known of his 123 dramas is Oedipus the King.

Hippias

2005-03-06T22:02:00.000-08:00

Tyrant of Athens from 528/527 to 510 BC. He was a patron of poets and craftsmen, and under his rule Athens prospered. After the assassination of his brother Hipparchus (514), however, Hippias was driven to repressive measures. An attempt by nobles in exile to force their way back failed, but in 510 the Spartans under Cleomenes I invaded Attica, besieged the tyrant's party on the acropolis, and

Heusler Alloy

2005-03-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Any of the first magnetic alloys composed of metals that, in their pure state, are not magnetic. The alloys are named after Fritz Heusler, 19th-century German mining engineer and chemist. Heusler alloys consist of approximately two parts of copper, one of manganese, and one of tin. The tin may be replaced by aluminum, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, or boron; the copper may be replaced

Mer

2005-03-03T07:52:00.000-08:00

Among the Cheremis and Udmurts (also called Votyaks), a district where people would gather periodically to hold religious festivals and perform sacrifices to nature gods. The word mer is derived from the Russian mir, “village community.” The people within the mer usually were of common origin; their customs were similar, and they may even have possessed names and ownership

Aerospace Medicine

2005-03-03T06:52:00.000-08:00

The ultimate aim of this specialty is to promote the safety and effectiveness of humans while they are exposed to the stresses of aerospace flight, such as extreme temperatures,

Tetricus, Gaius Pius Esuvius

2005-03-02T06:23:00.000-08:00

He was a Gallic noble related to the usurping ruler of Gaul, Victorinus, and to Victorinus' mother, Victoria. Upon the murder of Victorinus, Tetricus, who was governor of Aquitania, was proclaimed emperor, apparently backed by the influence and money of Victoria. During his short and nominal reign, the monetary inflation

Alemán, Mateo

2005-02-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

Descended from Jews who had been forcibly converted to Catholicism, Alemán expressed many aspects of the experiences and feelings of the New Christians in 16th-century Spain. His most important literary work, Guzmán de

Aurès

2005-02-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

Latin Aurasius Mons, mountains, part of the Saharan Atlas in northeastern Algeria, northern Africa, fronted by rugged cliffs in the north and opening out in the south into the two parallel fertile valleys of the wadies Abiod and 'Abdi, facing the Sahara. The highest peaks, which are snowcapped during winter, include Mount Chélia (7,638 feet [2,328 m]), the highest point in northern Algeria, and Mount Mahmel

Grafton, Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke Of

2005-02-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

Grandson of the 2nd duke, Charles Fitzroy (1683–1757), and great-grandson of the 1st, he was educated at Westminster School and Peterhouse, Cambridge. He was secretary of state in 1765 under the Marquess of Rockingham but retired the following year. William

Yuga

2005-02-26T02:23:00.000-08:00

In Hindu cosmology, an age of mankind. Each yuga is progressively shorter than the preceding one, corresponding to a decline in the moral and physical state of humanity. Four such yugas (called Krta, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali after throws of an Indian game of dice) make up the mahayuga (“great yuga”), and 2,000 mahayugas make up the basic cosmic cycle, the kalpa. The first yuga (Krta) was an age

Ventilating

2005-02-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

The hazards of poor ventilation were not clearly understood until the early

Arghezi, Tudor

2005-02-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

Arghezi, who left home at age 11, first published a poem at age 14. In 1899 he took holy orders in a monastery in Cernica, but he soon renounced them. After

Red River

2005-02-22T04:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Red River Of The South, navigable river rising in the high plains of eastern New Mexico, U.S., and flowing southeast across Texas and Louisiana to a point northwest of Baton Rouge, where it enters the Atchafalaya River (q.v.), which flows south to Atchafalaya Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Until the mid-20th century, the Red River contributed flow to both the Atchafalaya and, via the Old River, the Mississippi.

Mite

2005-02-22T03:26:00.000-08:00

Mites live in varied habitats: in brackish water, in fresh water, in hot springs, in soil, on plants, and as parasites on and in animals. Parasitic forms may live in the nasal passages, lungs, stomach, or deeper body tissues

Giresun

2005-02-20T23:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Keresun, city and seaport, northeastern Turkey. It lies along the Black Sea about 110 miles (175 km) west of Trabzon. The older parts of the city lie on a peninsula crowned by a ruined Byzantine fortress, sheltering the small natural harbour. Nearby is Giresun Island, in ancient times called Ares. Giresun was known to the ancient Greeks as Choerades or Pharnacia and to the Romans as Kerasous

Ducetius

2005-02-20T06:41:00.000-08:00

A Hellenized leader of the Siculi, an ancient people of Sicily, who for a short time welded the native communities of east Sicily into a powerful federation. He seized his opportunity during the confusion that followed the collapse of tyranny in Syracuse and other Sicilian states in 460. Enjoying the goodwill of the Syracusan democracy, he enlisted its help in driving

Moshoeshoe Ii

2005-02-19T02:51:00.000-08:00

He was educated locally at Roma College, Maseru, and in Great Britain at Ampleforth College and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The descendant and namesake of Moshoeshoe

G.c.

2005-02-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

The George Cross, a British decoration for bravery. See George Cross.

Wantage

2005-02-17T05:20:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Vale of White Horse district, administrative county of Oxfordshire, historic county of Berkshire, England. It is an old market town and the birthplace of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great (871–899), whose statue stands in the marketplace. The town is a modest service centre in rural surroundings, but research establishments, including the atomic-energy research

Gipon

2005-02-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

Later in the century the gipon became shorter, and it was replaced by the doublet in the 15th and 16th centuries. For a time it was called a pourpoint.

Athanasius, Saint

2005-02-13T04:33:00.000-08:00

Athanasius received his philosophical and theological training at Alexandria; in 325 he attended Bishop Alexander of Alexandria as deacon at the Council of Nicaea. A recognized theologian and ascetic, Athanasius was the obvious candidate to succeed Alexander when the latter died in 328. The first years of his episcopate were devoted to visitation of his extensive

Andorra La Vella

2005-02-13T01:47:00.000-08:00

Andorra la Vella long remained relatively isolated from the outside world. Its modernization began in the 1930s with the construction of carriage roads, and its population

Jackdaw

2005-02-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Daw (species Corvus monedula), crowlike black bird with gray nape and pearly eyes of the family Corvidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes). Jackdaws, which are 33 cm (13 inches) long, breed in colonies in tree holes, cliffs, and tall buildings: their flocks fly in formation around the site. They lay four to six light, greenish blue eggs that are spotted and blotched. The bird's

Metacarpal

2005-02-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

Any of several tubular bones between the wrist (carpal) bones and each of the forelimb digits in land vertebrates, corresponding to the metatarsal bones of the foot. Originally numbering five, metacarpals in many mammals have undergone much change and reduction during evolution. The lower leg of the horse, for example, includes only one strengthened metacarpal;

'amr Ibn Al-'as

2005-02-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

A wealthy member of the Banu Sahm clan of the important tribe of Quraysh, 'Amr accepted Islam in 629–630. Sent to Oman, in southeastern Arabia, by the Prophet Muhammad, he successfully completed his first mission by converting its rulers to Islam. As the leader of one of the three military forces sent to Palestine by the caliph Abu Bakr, he took

Pyrazole

2005-02-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

The pyrazole compounds are not known to occur in nature; they are usually prepared by the

Art And Architecture, Mesopotamian, Architecture

2005-02-07T01:13:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of monumental architecture in Mesopotamia are usually considered to have been contemporary with the founding of the Sumerian cities and the invention of writing, in about 3100 BC. Conscious attempts at architectural design during this so-called Protoliterate period (c. 3400–c. 2900 BC) are recognizable in the construction of religious buildings. There is, however,

Marie-thérèse Of Austria

2005-02-06T01:37:00.000-08:00

As the daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and Elizabeth of France, Marie-Thérèse was betrothed to Louis by the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659), which ended a 24-year war between France and Spain. Under the terms of the pact, she agreed to renounce her claim to succession to the Spanish throne

Duck

2005-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Any of several genera of relatively small, short-necked, large-billed waterfowl that belong to the subfamily Anatinae, family Anatidae (q.v.), order Anseriformes. In true ducks, i.e., those classified in Anatinae, the legs are placed rearward, as in swans, resulting in a waddling gait. Most true ducks, including a few inaccurately called geese by reason of size and build, differ

Smith, Kate

2005-02-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

Smith started singing before audiences as a child, and by age 17 she had decided on a career in show business. She went to New York City in 1926 and landed a role in a Broadway musical, Honeymoon Lane, the same year. In a succession of Broadway shows she had little chance

Monboddo, James Burnett, Lord

2005-02-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Monboddo's main work, Of the Origin and Progress of Language (6 vol., 1773–92), contains a vast body of curious lore on the manners and customs of primitive peoples, relates

La Salle, René-robert Cavelier, Sieur (lord) De

2005-02-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

French explorer in North America, who led an expedition down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and claimed all the region watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries for Louis XIV of France, naming the region “Louisiana.” A few years later, in a luckless expedition seeking the mouth of the Mississippi, he

Ashikaga Yoshiaki

2005-02-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

Shogun (hereditary military dictator) of Japan who was the 15th and last of his family to hold the title. Yoshiaki had been a priest, but in 1568, with the aid of his protector, the general Oda Nobunaga, he deposed his cousin Yoshihide and took over the shogunate. Subsequently, rivalry developed between Yoshiaki and Oda, and the latter deposed Yoshiaki and banished

Sasolburg

2005-02-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Free State province, South Africa, south of Johannesburg. Established in 1954, it was built by Sasol Ltd. (the former South African Coal, Oil, and Gas Corporation Ltd.) to house employees at the world's first oil-from-coal plant producing commercial quantities of oil. The location was selected for its proximity to large coal deposits, the Vaal River, and the Witwatersrand

Jupiter, Other satellites

2005-01-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

The only other Jovian satellite that was close enough to the trajectories of the Voyager spacecraft in 1979 to allow surface features to be seen was Amalthea. So small that its gravitational field is not strong enough to deform it into a sphere, it has an irregular, oblong shape (see Table). Like Io, its surface exhibits a reddish colour that may result from a coating of sulfur

Francistown

2005-01-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Botswana. It lies along the Tati (Tate) River and is an administrative and commercial centre. Francistown is the site of the Dumela industrial complex. Some gold is mined in the vicinity. The town lies in farming country on the country's main road and rail line. Air transport services link Francistown with Gaborone and Selebi-Phikwe. Pop. (1991) 65,244.

Defiance

2005-01-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1845) of Defiance county, northwestern Ohio, U.S., where the Auglaize and Tiffin rivers meet the Maumee, 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Toledo. Laid out in 1822, Defiance became a market for the farm produce of the Maumee valley and developed industrially after the completion of the Miami and Erie Canal (1845). Manufactures now include screw machine products, hand tools, ferrous castings,

Metatron

2005-01-28T06:28:00.000-08:00

Greatest of angels in Jewish myths and legends, variously identified as the Prince (or Angel) of the Presence, as Michael the archangel, or as Enoch after his ascent into heaven. He is likewise described as a celestial scribe recording the sins and merits of men, as a guardian of heavenly secrets, as God's mediator with men, as the “lesser Yahweh,” as the archetype of man, and

Tiberius

2005-01-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

In full Tiberius Caesar Augustus or Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus , original name Tiberius Claudius Nero second Roman emperor (AD 14–37), adopted son of Augustus, whose imperial institutions and imperial boundaries he sought to preserve. In his last years he became a tyrannical recluse, inflicting a reign of terror against the major personages of Rome.

Wright, Mickey

2005-01-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

Wright had begun playing golf by age 12. In 1952 she won the U.S. Golfing Association junior girls' championship. She attended Stanford University for one year before deciding to devote full time to golf. She was the 1954 World Amateur champion and also was

Arunachal Pradesh, Climate

2005-01-24T03:21:00.000-08:00

The climate of Arunachal Pradesh varies with topography and altitude. The foothill zone is subtropical and has a hot and humid climate; in the lower valleys, maximum summer temperatures reach 95° F (35° C), while winter minimums drop below 57° F (14° C). Annual rainfall in the state averages about 80 inches (2,000 millimetres), falling mostly between April and September; in East and West Siang districts

Gametophyte

2005-01-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

In the gametophyte phase, male and female organs (gametangia) develop and produce eggs and sperm

Biogeochemical Cycle

2005-01-22T13:16:00.000-08:00

Any of the natural circulation pathways of the essential elements of living matter. These elements in various forms flow from the nonliving (abiotic) to the living (biotic) components of the biosphere and back to the nonliving again. In order for the living components of a major ecosystem (e.g., a lake or forest) to survive, all the chemical elements that make up living cells

Syvash

2005-01-21T00:20:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sivash, or Sivaš, Russian Gniloye More (“Putrid Sea”), system of shallow inlets of the Sea of Azov that penetrate the northern and eastern coasts of the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine. Syvash is an area of marshy inlets and coves on the western margin of the Sea of Azov, from which it is separated by the Arabat Spit, a sandbar measuring from 900 feet to 5 miles (270 m to 8 km) in width. Syvash covers an area of approximately 990 square

Shellfish

2005-01-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

Bivalve mollusks, including oysters, mussels, scallops, and clams, rank among the most commercially

Lodge, Henry Cabot

2005-01-19T03:11:00.000-08:00

Lodge received in 1876 the first Ph.D. in political science to be granted by Harvard University. He remained at Harvard for the next three years as instructor in American

Morphy, Paul Charles

2005-01-17T05:16:00.000-08:00

Morphy learned chess at the age of

North America, The Western sclerophyllous scrub forest

2005-01-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

In the hills of southern California and throughout much of the American Southwest the Western sclerophyllous forest occurs. There trees and small shrubs must be adapted both to dry, hot summers when the tropical continental air is dominant and to moist, mild winters when polar Pacific air sweeps down from the north. A thin, short, open scrub of chaparral, or stunted

Romance

2005-01-16T00:05:00.000-08:00

The Old French word romanz

Piero Della Francesca

2005-01-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

Painter whose serene, disciplined exploration of perspective had little influence on his contemporaries but came to be recognized in the 20th century as a major contribution to the Italian Renaissance. The fresco cycle “The Legend of the True Cross” (1452–66) and the diptych portrait of Federico

Condition

2005-01-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

In logic, a sentence or proposition of the form “If A then B” [in symbols, A É B] is called a conditional (sentence or proposition). Similarly, “Whenever A then B” {in symbols, (x) [A(x) É B

Moscicki, Ignacy

2005-01-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

Moscicki was educated as a chemist. He joined the nationalistic Polish Socialist Party in the early 1890s and was involved in an attempt on the life of the governor-general

Ungava-quebec Crater

2005-01-11T05:45:00.000-08:00

Formerly Chubb Crater, the largest crater on the Earth's surface that is definitely known to be of meteoritic origin. It is located in the northwestern part of the Ungava Peninsula, northern Quebec province, Canada. First studied in 1950, the crater is 2.1 miles (3.3 km) in diameter and 1,203 feet (367 m) deep, with a rim standing 333 feet (101 m) above ground level. Filled by a lake, it is surrounded by many smaller circular lakes.

Lili Marleen

2005-01-10T06:32:00.000-08:00

English Lili Marlene , or Lilli Marlene German song popular during World War II among both German and Allied soldiers. Hans Leip (1893–1983) began writing the lyrics in 1914 or 1915, reputedly while standing guard duty one night under a lamppost (“Vor der Kaserne vor dem grossen Tor stand eine Laterne”; “Underneath the lantern by the barrack gate”). “Lili Marleen” was a composite of his own girlfriend Lili and a comrade's girlfriend

Bachchan, Amitabh

2005-01-09T19:28:00.000-08:00

Bachchan, the son of the renowned Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan, attended Sherwood College in Nainital and the University of Delhi. He worked as a business executive in Calcutta (Kolkata) and performed in

Wuppertal

2005-01-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), northwestern Germany. The city extends for 10 miles (16 km) along the steep banks of the Wupper River, a right-bank tributary of the Rhine, northeast of Düsseldorf. Formed as Barmen-Elberfeld in 1929 through the amalgamation of the towns of Barmen, Elberfeld, Beyenburg, Cronenberg, Ronsdorf, and Vohwinkel, the name was changed to Wuppertal

Narameikhla

2005-01-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

When Arakan became the scene of a struggle between rival centres of power in the 15th century, Narameikhla, the son of King Rajathu (reigned 1397–1401), was forced in the first year

Pacific Islands, Micronesia

2005-01-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Eight or 10 cultural-linguistic areas in Micronesia attest to its greater heterogeneity. Palau, Yap, and the Mariana Islands, in western Micronesia, suggest affinities with Melanesia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The customary siting of island farmsteads and hamlets near the shore reflects the prevailing interest in fishing, canoeing, and interisland trade. Except

Sacasa, Juan Bautista

2005-01-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Sacasa studied in the United States from 1889 to 1901, earning an M.D. from Columbia University. In 1924 he was elected vice president of Nicaragua as leader of the Liberal Party in a coalition government. The following year a coup d'état installed General Emiliano Chamorro

Gabon, Plant and animal life

2005-01-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

About 75 percent of the country is covered by a dense equatorial rain forest containing more than 3,000 species of vegetation, including the okoume, a hardwood tree that forms the backbone of Gabon's wood industry. The rain forest is inhabited by antelope, monkeys, gorillas, numerous tropical birds, and several varieties of elephants.

Furniture, Early Middle Ages

2005-01-04T00:09:00.000-08:00

With the collapse of the Roman Empire during the 4th–5th centuries, Europe sank into a period in which little furniture, except the most basic, was used: chairs, stools, benches, and primitive chests were the most common items. Several centuries were to pass before the invading Teutonic peoples evolved forms of furniture that approached the Roman standard of domestic

X Ray

2005-01-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

The particle nature of X rays is graphically demonstrated in the photoelectric effect and the Compton effect. In an attempt to explain blackbody radiation (radiation from a theoretically perfectly nonreflecting, or completely absorbing [i.e., “black”], body), Max Planck postulated that energy is radiated in small packets, or quanta, with an energy given by hn, in which n is

Nervous System Disease, Disorders of fat and fatty acid metabolism

2005-01-01T02:02:00.000-08:00

Many of the conditions mentioned in this and the next section are caused by a genetically determined enzyme

Bulb Rot

2004-12-31T10:31:00.000-08:00

Widespread disease that can infect all flower and crop bulbs and is caused by a variety of fungi and a few bacteria. Shoots fail to emerge or leaves are stunted, yellow to reddish or purplish, and they later wilt and die; roots, usually few, are discoloured and decayed. The rot often starts at the bulb base (root plate), progressing upward and outward. Fungal rots are usually

Argentina, The Gran Chaco

2004-12-30T23:03:00.000-08:00

The harsh physical conditions of the Gran

Ta-tu

2004-12-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Dadu , also spelled Taidu , Mongol Khanbaliq the city of Peking (q.v.) under the Mongols.

Tyrconnell, Richard Talbot, Earl Of, Viscount Baltinglass, Baron Of Talbotstown

2004-12-29T09:04:00.000-08:00

The son of Sir William Talbot, a Roman Catholic lawyer and politician, Richard fought with the Royalist forces in Ireland during the English Civil Wars between the Royalists and Parliamentarians. In November 1655 he was arrested

Dyson, Freeman (john)

2004-12-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

The son of a musician and composer, Dyson was educated at the University of Cambridge. As a teenager he developed a passion for mathematics, but his studies at Cambridge were interrupted in 1943, when he served in the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.

Lake, Simon

2004-12-25T02:56:00.000-08:00

Lake's first experimental submarine, the “Argonaut, Jr.,” built in 1894, had a wooden hull and was about 14 feet (4 metres) long. It travelled the sea bottom on wheels turned by hand. The “Argonaut,” built in 1897, was 36 feet (11 metres) long and was powered by

Scandinavian Literature, The influence of Georg Brandes

2004-12-25T00:44:00.000-08:00

About 1870 there arose in Denmark a new movement, led by Georg Brandes, from which a modern (i.e., a Naturalistic or Realistic) literature emerged. His Hovedstrømninger i det 19de aarhundredes litteratur (1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature), describing the growth and defeat of reaction, caused a great sensation. As noted earlier, he influenced Ibsen and Strindberg and wrote

West Dunbartonshire

2004-12-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

Council area, west-central Scotland, along the north bank of the lower River Clyde, northwest of Glasgow. It extends north to the shore of Loch Lomond, Scotland's largest lake, and encompasses an area of lowlands surrounding the Kilpatrick Hills, which stand in the centre of the council area. West Dunbartonshire lies entirely within the historic county of Dunbartonshire

Vacuum Technology

2004-12-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Capacities are available up to many thousands of cu ft per minute, operating in the pressure range of 10-3 to below 10-11 torr. The full speed of the pump, which only pumps chemically reactive gases, is developed at pressures below 10-5 torr. In this type of pump, titanium is sublimed onto the pump walls from either a resistance or an electron-beam heated source. Active gases are pumped

Kaiserslautern

2004-12-21T03:28:00.000-08:00

City, Rhineland-Palatinate Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies between the Haardt Mountains (Pfälzer Wald) and the Saar-Nahe-Bergland (Nordpfälzer Bergland) and is surrounded by the Pfälzer Wald nature preserve. A royal residence existed there in the Carolingian period (after 751). The place-name is derived from Lauter (a local stream) and from the emperor (kaiser) Frederick

Theobald, Lewis

2004-12-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

When in 1726 Theobald brought out his Shakespeare Restored; or, A Specimen of the Many Errors As Well Committed As Unamended by Mr. Pope, in His Late Edition of This Poet, Alexander Pope, whose edition

Kudurru

2004-12-18T18:30:00.000-08:00

The original kudurrus were kept in temples, while clay copies were given to the landowners. On the stone were engraved the clauses of the contract, the images or symbols of

Dolores River

2004-12-17T21:59:00.000-08:00

River in southwest Colorado, U.S., rising in the La Plata Mountains and flowing southwest through deep canyons, past Dolores, then northwest through Paradox Valley, at the north end of which it is met by its chief tributary, the San Miguel River. It continues on past Gateway and across the Utah border to join the Colorado River near Moab after a course of about 250 miles (400 km). Melting

Kubelík, Rafael

2004-12-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

He was a son of the violinist Jan Kubelík and studied composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatory. He conducted the Czech

Spotswood, Alexander

2004-12-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

After service under the 1st duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), he was appointed lieutenant governor of Virginia (1710). In this post he recommended the establishment of a Virginia company to carry

Yamm

2004-12-14T23:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Yam ancient West Semitic deity who ruled the oceans, rivers, lakes, and underground springs. He also played an important role in the Baal myths recorded on tablets uncovered at Ugarit, which say that at the beginning of time Yamm was awarded the divine kingship by El, the chief god of the pantheon. One day, Yamm's messengers requested that the gods surrender Baal to be a bond